Like other communities in the Great Lakes region, Toronto is undergoing significant changes in its climate. The city is becoming hotter, weather is becoming more variable, extreme weather is more common, and insect pests are multiplying as a result of warmer winters. Because of the millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases already released to the atmosphere, these changes will continue for the next century or more, even if we are successful in dramatically reducing emissions in the near future.

Many municipalities in the Great Lakes and elsewhere in Canada have developed climate change mitigation strategies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, most of these municipalities have not yet begun to develop plans to reduce the impacts of climate change that is already underway and is unavoidable. The City of Toronto is one of the first cities in Canada to develop a comprehensive climate change adaptation plan, as a result of a lengthy and thoughtful process.